One Second
by Mustang's Inferno
Summary: It had been an exciting day. It was Roy's birthday. Then the unexpected happened. One choice would make or break him. The things he wished that he had told her sooner, but never got around to. Now it was almost too late. She was almost gone, slipping from his grasp, right before his eyes. He had been so blind before. RoyxRiza. One Shot.


It had been just another average day at the Central Military command center. Work had gone smoothly, as usually (largely to Hawkeye's threats). Today, there a sort of get together going on at the office after hours, so a lot of the soldiers were still at the office. Why were they having a party at the Command Center? For one simple reason.

It was Roy Mustang's birthday.

All of the soldiers had come to like Roy Mustang very much. They had all agreed to set up this party for him, not so secretly. Roy, of course, was flattered, and allowed the party to take place. He could use the day off. He had spent most of his day sorting out paperwork and dealing with 'bomb threats' coming in the mail. This wasn't unordinary, though. Lots of people were unhappy with the government, so they sent in notes saying "_If you don't change this law, the West Headquarters will be destroyed" _or _"The Central Military command will blow up tomorrow if you don't…"._ Everyone's favorite one, though, was "_If you don't compensate me for this, then I will blow up Briggs."_ They actually had a copy of that one sent to Briggs, as a joke, and hung the other one up on the wall.

There had never actually been a real bomb threat before, though, so none of them where ever taken seriously.

Getting up from his desk, Roy stretched. He had been sitting down for practically the whole day.

_Well, I'd might as well see what's going on right now. I hope that Riza stayed, but she probably did._

Roy smiled at the thought of Riza. She had come a long way. She was one of the only female soldiers at Central, but she held a firm position at the top of the list of _"People who you shouldn't make angry"_ list. All of the men held respect for Riza, which made his job a lot easier in the long run.

Roy opened up the doors and smiled just a little bit at the scene. Riza had Black Hayate with her, who was going around and happily barking at everyone. Jean was happily filling Brenda in on his latest date, and, in general, everything was normal.

There was a cake set one a cleared off desk, already cut and ready to eat (thanks to Riza, no doubt). There was a stack of small gifts for him. There were, surprisingly, a lot of gifts. He must have gotten a lot from some of the other units.

_I guess that I am becoming well known, _thought Roy smugly.

"Roy, come and get the first piece of cake! I'm starvin' over here, and we can't eat till you do, so hurry it up, will you!" shouted Jean playfully.

"Well, if I must. Hey Jean, which piece do you want?" asked Roy slyly.

"The one with the huge candy flame on it, why?" replied Jean.

Roy faced the cake and took the piece of cake that Jean had just described, much to his dismay, and everyone else's amusement. Roy quickly took a bite of his piece before saying, "Thanks Jean! This piece tastes great!"

Jean was a little put out after that, but he still grabbed another piece to eat.

"Sometimes I think that Ed is right to call you teme…." Mumbled Jean, unaware that Mustang could hear him.

Mustang just laughed it off and started to walk over in Hawkeye's direction. She was genuinely smiling, which only happened she was around them.

Then, it happened.

The first bomb went off.

Everyone in the room froze immediately, trying to figure out the location of the noise, but they couldn't.

Then there was a second one. It was closer this time.

All of the people in the room rushed out of the room, trying to escape fast enough, but they couldn't.

The third bomb went off. The explosion started in Mustang's office. Mustang had been the last one out of the office, since he was furthest from the door, and he was in charge, so he wanted to make sure that everyone got out safely. They almost made it, but the explosion caught them.

They were flying. Mustang's stomach had already dropped, then he collided with the now ruined wall.

When Mustang was able to sit up, he assessed his surroundings. Almost everything was gone. A few of the cinderblock walls, one of which he was up against, was still standing. There was debris everywhere, and fire. He quickly looked around to find the rest of his team.

He found Jean first, because he was able to see his bright colored hair. Not to far away from him was Brenda. As his eyes focused more, he could see that Hawkeye was already standing up and coming towards him. She didn't appear to have any injuries, but then again, she wouldn't show it even if she did have a serious injury.

"Are you alright, sir?' asked Hawkeye.

"Yes, Hawkeye. I just hit my head, but I think that I can move. Will you help me up?" responded Roy, who's speak was just a little ebit slurred from being hit of the head.

"Yes, sir."

Riza slowly helped Roy to his feet. He tried to use the wall to help the lieutenant, but he wasn't doing much good. Roy stumbled slightly, hitting the wall hard. He saw stars for a few moments, but he managed to regain his composure rather quickly.

Suddenly, Riza's eye's widened. Roy didn't know what she saw, but she was quickly in action. And that action was throwing the Flame Alchemist.

Roy, who had just gotten his bearings, was suddenly stumbling ten feat away from where he had been.

"Lieutenant, why did you…" the general started angrily, but was cut off by a loud crash.

The young general turned around as quickly as he was able to, and was horrified.

The wall which he was just standing against was no longer there.

It was on the ground.

Where he would have been.

Where Riza was.

Where there was now an arm.

Where there was now blood.

Lots of it.

Too much.

…

.

"LIEUTENANT! " Roy screamed, not caring who was watching him or listening.

The black haired man ran and fell down next to the pile, scrambling for something, anything.

Everyone else, who had seen the whole scene playing out, hurried over to them as fast as possible. Everyone was trying, for Riza.

Roy was the one who found her face. She was lying face down. They didn't know the extent of her injuries, so they did not move her any more or the blocks around her, fearing that they would only make it worse.

"Lieutenant, Riza, RIZA! Answer me, please!" pleaded Roy, who was now frantically touching her neck, trying to find a pulse. But his fingers where clumsy, and his head was spinning.

"I'm still here, sir," came a soft voice. They could just barely hear it. But it was enough.

"Riza, don't die! That is an order. Just wait, we'll get you help soon." Said Roy frantically. "Boys, start getting the blocks off of her. Start with the ones on the top so that they don't shift…"

"No, don't waste your energy." Cam Riza's weak voice from underneath the pile.

"Riza we can get you out of there. Just give us a little ebit. We need to get you to a hospital!" said Roy desperately. He was confused by Riza's words, but he kept on moving the blocks.

"Roy," Riza said, getting Roy's immediate attention. Riza never used his name when others where around. And she only ever used it, even then, whenever she was trying to get him to listen. She was serious now.

"Don't try. It's not worth it. I can tell you that my arm is crushed, I have a pipe through my thigh, at least four broken ribs, probably a punctured lung, definitely a bruised lung, and a concussion." Riza coughed loudly, blood coming out of her mouth. All of the men had stopped now, and where listening to Riza. "Even if you got me out of here, I would probably still die of blood loss. The only reason that I haven't bleed out already is because the pressure of the rocks on my arm and leg. I'm so sorry, but I won't be able to follow your orders."

Roy didn't know what to say. He didn't know if he could even trust his own voice.

"Just stay with me. Please, Roy."

Roy nodded. All of the men backed off just a little bit. More people where arriving to see what had happened, but they kept their distance. Each of them was sad in their own way, but not as sad as Mustang.

Not even caring about public appearances, or even his own reputation, Roy's shoulders were shaking. Silent tears where making their way down his face, but Riza knew that they wouldn't stay silent for long.

"Roy, it's ok." Said Riza weakly, trying to comfort him, if even for just a moment.

"Please, please don't die on me Riza. Please, I need you! I don't know what I'll do. I could cauterize the wound and stop the bleeding…"

"It's too late. Besides, I would bleed out before you would be able to get me out of here."Said Riza, not wanting him to go through all of the trouble to save her, just to have her die.

"Roy, I love you."

Roy froze. He looked at Riza's dying form, and wept harder, his tears turned into body wracking sobs.

He had heard those words from so many different women. But now he had finally heard them from the one that he wanted to hear it from the most.

"I love you too, Riza. I always have. I'm sorry that I have never told you before." Confessed Roy, who was now wishing that he had told her sooner, instead of on her death bed.

Roy sank lower to the ground. He kissed Riza's forehead, since he could not get to her lips. He could not see the tears running down Riza's face, yet she didn't make a sound.

"Roy, are you alright?"

"Yes, I am. Why did you do it? Why did you have to do it." Asked Roy sadly, chocking a bit when he said it.

"I did it for you. I had to protect you. I couldn't move fast enough to get out anyways. I had already had the pipe in my leg from the first explosion. Please don't blame yourself. I did it because I wanted to. It was my own choice." Explained Riza.

Roy moved some hair out of Riza's eyes, trying to comfort her in her pain.

"Roy, it hurt." Riza said, surprising all of them.

"I know it does. Just hang in there." Said Roy, who was still shedding tears.

"Will you please kill me."

Roy frozen. He didn't know how to respond. How should he? The one person that he had even truly loved has asked him to kill her. And he would.

"Ok," Mustang chocked out with much difficulty. Riza relaxed just a little bit.

"Thank you, Roy. If I die, I would like for you to do it, and not to bleed to death pathetically. Please make it quick." Said Riza, whose voice was getting softer.

"Of course." Agreed Roy.

"I loved you so much Roy."

"I know. I love you to." Roy stood up, making the hardest decision that he had even had to make. But he would do it, for her.

"And Roy," said Riza quickly, getting his attention, "Continue on with your life. You have so much more to live. Reach your goals, for me. Don't make my sacrifice for nothing."

"I will, I promise." Whispered Roy, holding his hand up. His hand was shaking violently, but yet he still held his ground.

Riza's eyes closed as she said her last words. "Goodbye, Roy Mustang."

"Goodbye, Riza Hawkeye," whispered the flame alchemist to his friend who had confessed her love to him, tears still falling down his face.

One second she was there, the next, she was gone.

*SNAP*

_**I hope that you liked this story, because it took a while for me to get the courage to write it. I wrote this story at midnight, and I almost didn't finish it because I was so depressed about writing it (I almost cried). I hope that I didn't overload you guys to much, but I am hoping that this meets fanfiction review's standard of approval. **_

_**Please review your opinions. This is the first EVER sad story that I have written, so I would like to know if it touched someone. **_

_**Thanks**_

_**~Mustang's Inferno**_


End file.
